Ex-Reform candidate suggests people without children should pay more for their mortgages

An ex-Reform candidate who previously suggested people without children should pay more tax has now said they could pay more for their mortgages too. Matt Goodwin, who was defeated -election earlier this year, hit out at The Independent’s reporting, which revealed he previously suggested imposing a “negative child benefit tax” on “those who don’t have offspring” – a proposal that prompted comparisons to dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale. The Independent also revealed that Mr Goodwin called for women and young girls to be given a “biological reality” check, as he gave his views on how Britain should tackle its impending “fertility crisis”. In his latest post on his Substack blog, he accused the “left-wing media” of making a “false claim to try and derail our campaign among women voters”. “If there’s one thing the liberal class love more than debating ideas, it’s inventing arguments their opponents never made,” he said. “Such as the argument that I want to live in a world where women who have no children pay much higher rates of tax. Why not prioritise British families that have more than two children when it comes to housing and giving them far more favourable mortgage rates, for example?” The former academic – who faced criticism earlier this year after using AI to help write his latest book – insisted that “as the son of a single mother, and father of a daughter, I will always be among the first to advocate for women’s rights and choice”. “Women must always be able to choose what they do with their own bodies. End of story,” he added. "I am also intimately aware that some women who desperately want to have children struggle with infertility. I want to be clear how much I empathise with those women. Because I really do.” Responding to his remarks, Labour Party chair Anna Turley told The Independent: “Matt Goodwin’s proposal of higher mortgage rates for women with fewer than two children is shocking, but sadly not surprising.” She claimed Reform has “form for this kind of thing”, pointing to Reform’s candidate in the Makerfield by-election. Rob Kenyon “made vile comments about women, admitted to being a sexist and refused to apologise”, she said, insisting that the party is “not on the side of women”. Mr Kenyon faced major backlash during the Makerfield campaign after a series of now-deleted comments he made about women online resurfaced, including a suggestion women can’t “ref, drive or give directions”.